What do all those numbers on trucks mean? Such as 1203 for gasoline and where can I find a list of the numbers? It would be nice to know

On Wednesday, October 15, 2014 6:46:30 AM UTC-4, herb white wrote:
What do all those numbers on trucks mean? Such as 1203 for gasoline and where can I find a list of the numbers? It would be nice to know

I googled 1203 and one of the autofill options was "1203 Hazmat". Following that link got me to

http://www.mcor-nmra.org/publication...20placards.pdf

which looks like what you want.

Paul

"Pavel314" wrote in message
...
On Wednesday, October 15, 2014 6:46:30 AM UTC-4, herb white wrote:
What do all those numbers on trucks mean? Such as 1203 for gasoline and
where can I find a list of the numbers? It would be nice to know

I googled 1203 and one of the autofill options was "1203 Hazmat".
Following that link got me to

http://www.mcor-nmra.org/publication...20placards.pdf

which looks like what you want.

Paul

here is a link to, perhaps, ALL the numbers, as part of a FREE online
version of the Emergency Response Guidebook:

http://wwwapps.tc.gc.ca/saf-sec-sur/...g/idindex.aspx

herb white posted for all of us...


What do all those numbers on trucks mean? Such as 1203 for gasoline and where can I find a list of the numbers? It would be nice to know

As the other posters have indicated it is a placard for hazardous materials.
It was set up by the US DOT for implementation by first responders. IIRC it
was mandated by the deaths of 5 volunteer firefighters near Stoudsburg, PA
that were responding to a truck fire. Unknown to them because it had NO
markings & they were unable to access the logs it contained a quantity of
explosives. The resultant crater was about 30' in dia. and 10' deep.

When I was a chief I had one of "the orange books" in my vehicle along with
every other officer and piece of equipment. I also had binoculars to read
the number from a distance. It contained a brief description of what the
chemical was and cautions on f/f and exposure. We would also call county
dispatch and have them call Chemtrec and the weather service for conditions.
Now the fire services have hazmat groups throughout the county and they are
contacted to deal with it. An initial response may include an evacuation of
an area and then hang back. Remember: "To do nothing is to do something"

The other placards indicate corrosives, flammables, etc. It seems to me that
there are a lot less trucks placarded these days. They all can't be carrying
paper...

Milk used to be considered a hazmat, now it is not.
--
Tekkie

Tekkie® wrote:

Milk used to be considered a hazmat, now it is not.

An oddity is new car batteries are HazMat. 45,000 pounds of semi-discharged
dead batteries leaking sulfuric acid aren't. Which I thought was great when
I was running scrap batteries from Denver to the recycler in LA. Communing
with the goats on Rt. 6 rather than slipping through the Eisenhower tunnel
sucks.

rbowman posted for all of us...

Tekkie® wrote:

Milk used to be considered a hazmat, now it is not.

An oddity is new car batteries are HazMat. 45,000 pounds of semi-discharged
dead batteries leaking sulfuric acid aren't. Which I thought was great when
I was running scrap batteries from Denver to the recycler in LA. Communing
with the goats on Rt. 6 rather than slipping through the Eisenhower tunnel
sucks.

I hear you...

To the other posters, take a look around at the trucks you see. Are they
sporting placards? I'm curious. My observation is about 10%. What do you
see? Have the standards changed or am I blind? I know I'm ignorant.

--
Tekkie

On 10/19/2014 7:17 PM, Tekkie® wrote:
rbowman posted for all of us...

Tekkie® wrote:

Milk used to be considered a hazmat, now it is not.

An oddity is new car batteries are HazMat. 45,000 pounds of semi-discharged
dead batteries leaking sulfuric acid aren't. Which I thought was great when
I was running scrap batteries from Denver to the recycler in LA. Communing
with the goats on Rt. 6 rather than slipping through the Eisenhower tunnel
sucks.

I hear you...

To the other posters, take a look around at the trucks you see. Are they
sporting placards? I'm curious. My observation is about 10%. What do you
see? Have the standards changed or am I blind? I know I'm ignorant.


Most don't as they are not carrying hazmat classified material. The
shipper must indicate on the bill of lading if the goods shipped require
it. The driver must have hazmat certification to carry it.

On 10/15/2014 6:46 AM, herb white wrote:
What do all those numbers on trucks mean? Such as 1203 for gasoline and where can I find a list of the numbers? It would be nice to know


They are Department of Transportation, DOT, hazardous chemical
designations. Google up DOT UN numbers for specific numbers.
Depending how hazardous the material, the quantity will require putting
the number on the transport or package. Most chemicals below one gallon
don't require them.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lists_of_UN_numbers

I've worked with these things and always figured less than one percent
of the public would recognize their significance. Emergency responders
should and should carry lists as number itself is meaningless.

DOT placards will also contain symbols for flammability and toxicity etc.

Tekkie® wrote:

To the other posters, take a look around at the trucks you see. Are they
sporting placards? I'm curious. My observation is about 10%. What do you
see? Have the standards changed or am I blind? I know I'm ignorant.

The company I worked for seldom took HazMat loads but would sometimes get
one for the backhaul. For example, we'd run carpet from LA to Reno and
sometimes load paint at Sherwin Williams going back to LA. Most of the
placarded loads I hauled weren't really all that hazardous. I did have a
couple of barrels of insecticide that exceeded the weight that required
placading. Big signs saying POISON tends to keep people from parking too
close at a truck stop. EXPLOSIVES is good too.

A HazMat certification used to be just a written test; now you've got the
DHS peering up your ass for a $70 fee. Last time my license came up I
decided I really didn't need a CDL anymore. OTR trucking was something I
wanted to do as a kid and finally got around to it in my 40's. I enjoyed it
for a few years but it does get old after a while.

On Sun, 19 Oct 2014 20:19:28 -0600, rbowman
wrote:



A HazMat certification used to be just a written test; now you've got the
DHS peering up your ass for a $70 fee. Last time my license came up I
decided I really didn't need a CDL anymore. OTR trucking was something I
wanted to do as a kid and finally got around to it in my 40's. I enjoyed it
for a few years but it does get old after a while.

I missed the opportunity. Looks like a fun job for a couple of years
in your 20's or 30's, but not what I want to do as a long time career.
I drive a desk and I'm home every night at 4:40 PM.

On 10/20/2014 5:54 AM, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
On Sun, 19 Oct 2014 20:19:28 -0600, rbowman
wrote:



A HazMat certification used to be just a written test; now you've got the
DHS peering up your ass for a $70 fee. Last time my license came up I
decided I really didn't need a CDL anymore. OTR trucking was something I
wanted to do as a kid and finally got around to it in my 40's. I enjoyed it
for a few years but it does get old after a while.

I missed the opportunity. Looks like a fun job for a couple of years
in your 20's or 30's, but not what I want to do as a long time career.
I drive a desk and I'm home every night at 4:40 PM.

I'd also have enjoyed being a driver. Sadly, the
demographic tends to crude language, and lots of
coffee and cigarettes. I don't much care if someone
drinks coffee, but like The Daring Dufas, I'm
allergic to tobacco.

Don't think I'd last too long in the trucking trade,
if I went around telling drivers to tip out the
coffee, and put the dern cig out.

--
..
Christopher A. Young
Learn about Jesus
www.lds.org
..

Ed Pawlowski wrote:

I missed the opportunity. Looks like a fun job for a couple of years
in your 20's or 30's, but not what I want to do as a long time career.
I drive a desk and I'm home every night at 4:40 PM.

I was a little burned out from programming and it was a nice break. It took
a while to restart my software career but I didn't have a lot of pressure so
that was no problem.

That's a downside of OTR. I moved to Montana because I liked the area but
with OTR you're essentially living in a truck, with three or four days off
at home every few weeks. The upside is the lack of continuity. By that I
mean when you deliver the load, the job is done; it doesn't haunt you for
years like a software project. With a 40% turnover in the industry,
employers are used to people leaving. After the first couple of years I
could quit about this time of year, go to Arizona for the winter, reappear
in the spring, jump into a truck and hit the road. Now my boss tends to have
panic attacks when I say 'vacation' and the word 'retire' really peaks his
blood pressure.

Trucking can work out well for retirees too. Same deal, work summers with
somebody else buying fuel for your really big RV, take the winters off.

Stormin Mormon wrote:

I'd also have enjoyed being a driver. Sadly, the
demographic tends to crude language, and lots of
coffee and cigarettes. I don't much care if someone
drinks coffee, but like The Daring Dufas, I'm
allergic to tobacco.

You would be surprised. The demographic has changed quite a bit. I didn't
smoke so I'm not certain, but I think the company discouraged smoking in the
trucks. I never got into a cab that smelled like an ashtray at least. Some
of the drivers would chew and have their spit cans but that was it.

Most truck stops now are 'travel plazas' and are clean, well lighted places.
You can still find the old school, drugs and hookers type places back east
and in parts of CA but that's about it. I never bothered with the CB much,
but crude language also seems to be an eastern phenomenon. There's a truck
stop in Wyoming where the bull haulers congregate that I never want to see
again, but then bull haulers are sui generis.

Coffee, yeah, and I tended to have a case of Diet Coke in the box but that's
normal for me. Lately I've switched from Diet Coke to Monster or RockStar.
Gotta get my drugs.

On 10/20/2014 10:20 AM, rbowman wrote:
Stormin Mormon wrote:

I'd also have enjoyed being a driver. Sadly, the
demographic

You would be surprised. The demographic has changed quite a bit. I didn't
smoke so I'm not certain, but I think the company discouraged smoking in the
trucks. I never got into a cab that smelled like an ashtray at least. Some
of the drivers would chew and have their spit cans but that was it.

CY:Might have changed. I remember one wholesale
parts house for HVAC, ten or so years ago. I was
the only nonsmoker in the place. Now, not as much.


Most truck stops now are 'travel plazas' and are clean, well lighted places.
You can still find the old school, drugs and hookers type places back east
and in parts of CA but that's about it.

CY: Hmm. Didn't know that.

I never bothered with the CB much,
but crude language also seems to be an eastern phenomenon. There's a truck
stop in Wyoming where the bull haulers congregate that I never want to see
again, but then bull haulers are sui generis.

CY: I take CB with me, when I'm out of state, and
after the wreck that left me standing (literally)
along side my truck for an hour in a 65 MPH zone,
I make sure to have a CB with me.


Coffee, yeah, and I tended to have a case of Diet Coke in the box but that's
normal for me. Lately I've switched from Diet Coke to Monster or RockStar.
Gotta get my drugs.

CY: EEek, those Montster are wicked addictive.
As with the energy shots. Also addictive.

On 10/20/2014 10:20 AM, rbowman wrote:

Most truck stops now are 'travel plazas' and are clean, well lighted places.
You can still find the old school, drugs and hookers type places back east
and in parts of CA but that's about it. I never bothered with the CB much,
but crude language also seems to be an eastern phenomenon. There's a truck
stop in Wyoming where the bull haulers congregate that I never want to see
again, but then bull haulers are sui generis.


You seen the show "Ice Road Truckers"? Those
guys can be really insane. I'd not want to
drive the ice road.


--
..
Christopher A. Young
Learn about Jesus
www.lds.org
..

On 10/20/2014 10:31 AM, Stormin Mormon wrote:


You seen the show "Ice Road Truckers"? Those
guys can be really insane. I'd not want to
drive the ice road.



Just about every trucker that comes to our place brags "I could do that,
no problem" Yeah sure, it took you six tries to back into our fock.

rbowman wrote:

Tekkie® wrote:

To the other posters, take a look around at the trucks you see. Are they
sporting placards? I'm curious. My observation is about 10%. What do you
see? Have the standards changed or am I blind? I know I'm ignorant.

The company I worked for seldom took HazMat loads but would sometimes get
one for the backhaul. For example, we'd run carpet from LA to Reno and
sometimes load paint at Sherwin Williams going back to LA. Most of the
placarded loads I hauled weren't really all that hazardous. I did have a
couple of barrels of insecticide that exceeded the weight that required
placading. Big signs saying POISON tends to keep people from parking too
close at a truck stop. EXPLOSIVES is good too.

A HazMat certification used to be just a written test; now you've got the
DHS peering up your ass for a $70 fee. Last time my license came up I
decided I really didn't need a CDL anymore. OTR trucking was something I
wanted to do as a kid and finally got around to it in my 40's. I enjoyed it
for a few years but it does get old after a while.

I like having a CDL w/ endorsements as a backup job. Lots of demand so
if the **** hit the fan with my regular job I could have a trucking job
that will at least pay the bill in a matter of days.

On 10/20/2014 10:06 PM, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
On 10/20/2014 10:31 AM, Stormin Mormon wrote:


You seen the show "Ice Road Truckers"? Those
guys can be really insane. I'd not want to
drive the ice road.



Just about every trucker that comes to our place brags "I could do that,
no problem" Yeah sure, it took you six tries to back into our fock.

There was a story in my church magazine, many
years ago. I could not find it on a quick web
search so I'll type it from memory.

Back in the horse drawn days, a driving position
opened up. The first applicant declared that he
could drive so the wheels were right at the edge
of the cliff.

The second driver declared he could drive so that
the wheels were half off the edge of the cliff,
and never go over.

The third driver declared that he could drive in
the middle of the road and be safe. Third guy got
the job.

-
..
Christopher A. Young
Learn about Jesus
www.lds.org
..

On 10/21/2014 7:31 AM, Pete C. wrote:

I like having a CDL w/ endorsements as a backup job. Lots of demand so
if the **** hit the fan with my regular job I could have a trucking job
that will at least pay the bill in a matter of days.


It is very possible we'll have plenty of jobs, hauling
bright red bags of gauze, gloves, and bed sheets. Just
unload them by hand onto the pile, and light em off with
some diesel fuel.

Call in sick if you get flu like symptoms.
-
..
Christopher A. Young
Learn about Jesus
www.lds.org
..